Apparently I'm going to be kicked off the boards (Discourse upcoming incompatibility){New cheap PC posts moved out}

Site Feedback
1

Says the banner at the top of the page"

Your browser will soon be incompatible with this community. To keep participating here, please upgrade your browser or learn more.

Says (in part) the explanation when I click on the banner:

From 1st May 2025, Discourse will start using some modern browser features which are unavailable on iOS 15, and some other old browsers.

Discourse’s minimum supported iOS version will be updated from 15.7 to 16.7. After that, visitors using older versions of iOS will be shown a basic-html version of community content, and won’t be able to login or interact with the site.

[ . . . ]

This change will also affect older versions of other browsers. The minimum Firefox version with support for these features is v128 (July 2024), and the minimum Chrome(ium) version is v119 (Oct 2023).

My Firefox is updating – but it’s updating, on this old computer, as an alternative version, 115.21.0esr. I’ve no idea what Chrome is willing to do, though I can try to find out. I don’t particularly like Chrome; and it may not be willing to give me a new version either.

I might be able to get in on the iPad, which does take 16.7; but it’s a lot harder for me to browse the boards on the smaller screen, and a lot harder for me to type any responses.

I am not a happy camper. And I cannot afford a new computer.

2

I just updated to 21.2 esr. Same message.

3

@wolfpup mentioned the same issue in the March mini rants thread.

There are some low cost options there. My old laptop was dying anyway. I bought a Refurbished Best Buy laptop for under $300

4

There should be no need for a new computer. I am not sure why any modern browser can’t be up to spec for you. There is no shortage of browsers you could choose to use (all free). Any of which should have no problem working on your PC (unless your PC is from 1995).

5

For one thing, I can’t at the moment spare $300 for a new computer. I’m trying to scrape up enough to renew my passport and am not sure I’ll be able to do that. For another, the amount of hassle it would take me to learn dealing with Windows is probably greater than the amount of hassle to occasionally post on the iPad. The desktop is a Mac mini; currently going for $599.

6

It’s a Mac Mini from 2014 running 10.13.4. Have you got suggestions? Firefox will only update on the esr system, not on regular Firefox. Maybe some other free browser will do so, and I might be able to sort it out before May.

7

Mac are not my thing so I cannot be of much help.

It looks like that version was updated in 2018 (almost exactly seven years ago).

A bit long in the tooth but I can’t think of a reason a modern browser cannot work on it.

If, for some reason, Firefox stops working try another browser. Safari, Chrome, Brave, Opera, etc. See what works. They are all free.

Or, try uninstalling and re-installing Firefox (be sure to save your bookmarks and passwords first).

8

I hope you get this worked out.

9

Firefox is working just fine. It’s even updating. It’s just updating in a different version than they’re supporting. They will no longer update the standard version for this OS; it’s got nothing to do with re-installing it. If I re-install it I’ll just get the esr version again.

Safari will not update further without updating the entire computer. I do almost nothing in Safari on this computer.

At some point between now and May (not in the next couple of days) I’ll try the others. Maybe one will work; if one does and I can’t stand it otherwise I’ll just use it only for the Dope.

10

I am unfamiliar with the ESR version of Firefox. An extended support version? I am unclear what that gets you (anyone).

I use regular Firefox on my PC with no problems. I do not know if ESR would be different.

You can download another browser today and try it out. See how it goes. You can have all of them on your Mac at the same time with no problem. See what works and what you like while you have some time to sort it out.

11

Yes; though beyond that I don’t know.

Which isn’t today. Or tomorrow. Not sure about the day after.

Maybe I should have waited to post this thread.

12

Do it whenever you want.

Just try to do it before it becomes a critical problem. Up to you, of course.

13

My guess is that Firefox simply says that newer versions of the browser aren’t compatible with that old a version of MacOS.

14

Here is what Firefox actually says.

Firefox version 115 is the last supported Firefox version for users of macOS 10.12 (Sierra), macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and macOS 10.14 (Mojave). If you have been using Firefox on these macOS versions, you will be moved to the Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) channel by an application update

Since the Discourse announcement says that the minimum level of Firefox will be 128, that means that no version of Firefox that can run on that old of a MacOS installation will be able to access Discourse.

15

“We are, that is us, the people who maintain the software, are changing it so it won’t work for you. This is obviously your fault.”

16

You can use something called Open Core Legacy Patcher to install newer versions of OSX onto unsupported macs. There’s a guide here.

But really, you should be thinking about an upgrade path out of an 11 year old machine. The M1 mac minis are probably your best bet, start hunting your local buy/sell & freecycle groups. You might be able to get one for as little as $150 with the right deal. Any spec machine is fine as they’re all likely to be many times faster than your current machine and supported for quite a while.

17

The issue for me is Windows 7. No browser that I know of (not Firefox, Edge, Chrome, or Brave) has a version on Windows 7 that supports the required useless new features that Discourse is demanding. The need for a new computer comes from the fact that most computers more than a few years old aren’t compatible with Windows 11. A last-ditch last hope is Supermium, an obscure fork of the Chromium platform that runs on older versions of Windows.

Regarding Firefox, I’m on the ESR program and have the latest update, but for Windows 7 those are security updates; they don’t bring any new functionality.

In my view this an absolutely asinine move by Discourse which is very disruptive to users on older platforms and brings very minimal benefits (like, none at all that I can see).

18

42 posts were merged into an existing topic: New Cheap PC for Windows 11 or supporting Discourse discussion

19

Same boat … using Mojave…not a happy camper. :face_with_symbols_on_mouth:
I will be fine on the mcycle computer which is an M2 Air but that is not my main machine.
I knew this point was coming but still annoying.
I fail to understand why an older OS can run an older version of Discourse and access the board instead of being locked out entirely.

as for Windoze fugedaboudit.

26

My iPad Mini 4 (which I almost exclusively use to read the SDMB) will no longer supported, so it’s not just Windows.